French President Emmanuel Macron's approval rating has fallen to its lowest point since he took office, according to an Ipsos BVA-Cesi barometer for La Tribune Dimanche published Saturday. Just 16% of respondents said they had a favorable opinion of him, down five points from July.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu fared little better, with his popularity estimated at 20%, a drop of seven points over the same period.
Sharpest drop among the government's own base
The poll, conducted online on September 9 and 10, found Macron's popularity falling broadly among supporters of opposition parties, as might be expected. But the steepest decline came from within his own political family: favorable opinion among sympathizers of Renaissance, MoDem and Horizons, the parties that make up his governing coalition, fell to 53%, a drop of 19 points.
Lecornu suffered a similar reversal with the same group of voters. Support for the prime minister among Renaissance-MoDem-Horizons sympathizers dropped to 64%, down 14 points.
Macron has led France since 2017, and Lecornu was appointed prime minister as head of his government. Renaissance, MoDem and Horizons form the centrist coalition that has backed Macron's presidency in parliament.
Cost of living tops voters' concerns
The survey also asked the French public about their main worries. Difficulties linked to purchasing power topped the list, cited by 54% of respondents.
That was followed by the future of the social welfare system, mentioned by 40% of those polled, then the environment and immigration, each cited by 31%. Concern over the level of public debt and deficits followed close behind, mentioned by 30% of respondents.
The poll was carried out on a sample of 1,000 adults, selected to be representative of the French population using the quota method. The margin of error ranges between 0.6 and 3.1 points, depending on the figure measured.
